Unlucky Charm
by mindsplat
Summary: Another day in the life of Marinette Dupain-Cheng; go to school as Marinette, see Adrien, fight bad guys as Ladybug alongside Chat Noir. After living this routine for so long, Marinette had started to grow used to it - she'd win, the bad guys would lose. Simple. But she discovers maybe things aren't quite so simple when one tiny mistakes changes her whole world. (Based on Season 1)
1. One

'Girl, you've got to show me!' Alya begged, reaching forward to grab Marinette's sketch book. 'You've got some awesome designs!'

Marinette resisted, chuckling at her friend's antics. 'No, Alya, they aren't ready yet! Give me more time. I just have to add a few touches to it...'

As the pair argued jokingly, Alya finally managed to grab a hold of the sketchbook, which matched all other accessories that Marinette had, and pulled it from Marinette's hands; upon looking at the designs Marinette had drawn, Alya's eyes widened.

'Marinette, these are actually amazing!' Alya's jaw dropped as she flicked through the pages, thumbing over the sketches. 'And they're all related to the villains we've been seeing throughout Paris! Wait...' Alya flicked forward to a rigid black and purple dress design - a black, floor-length gown with four purple bands around the waist and for the sleeves as well. 'Is this Lady Wifi?'

Marinette giggled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear, grabbing her book back from her best friend.

'Wow, Marinette, are these your designs?' a familiar voice drifted through the air by her ear, sending a chill of nerves across her skin and flushing her pale face bright red. Marinette turned quickly - a little too quickly - to the person who was speaking and immediately felt her balance become unbalanced; falling forward, Marinette looked up to realise that she had not only fallen toward Adrien, but that he had also caught her, the thought of which sending her even redder with embarrassment. She had also dropped the book right between them.

In a swift movement, the pair had both leaned down at the same time, meeting each other's eyes as their hands touched and pink painted their cheeks.

'Oh, s-sorry!' Marinette exclaimed, unaware of the giggling that erupted from the group of friends that stood behind her, consisting of Alya, Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Alix. They, however, were very aware of the situation, having known Marinette for long enough to know her feelings toward Adrien and her inability to hide them - to everyone except for him.

As they stood up, grasping the book, and each others' hand, Adrien pulled away, rubbing his neck awkwardly as the classroom grew suddenly silent. It took a few seconds before either of them said anything, and it was he who broke the silence, turning back to his reddened friend with a grin. 'Uh, you never answered if those were your designs.'

'Y-yeah, they are. They're not that great - I haven't finished them yet.' Marinette blushed as she rubbed her foot back and forth on the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the guy she had an interest in. It was far too embarrassing after that ordeal just then, and he probably thought that her designs weren't that good, either.

Adrien's smile grew. 'That's amazing, Marinette! I remember seeing some of your hat designs for my father's design competition but I never realised that you could ever come up with something like this! At this rate, it won't be long before you give him a run for his money! I can't wait until you enter a design for this competition - I'll probably be wearing it! I'll be rooting for you.'

With a hand on Marinette's shoulder, closer to her neck than usual, Adrien had officially done it - he had broken the Marinette.


	2. Two

'Sorry, m'lady, but I'm about to change back! I entrust you to her!' As Chat Noir's ring flashed on its last pad, the hero dove out of sight down the side of the building, leaving his partner to fight Arachne on her own.

Arachne grinned menacingly. 'So, Ladybug, it's just you and me. Do you really think you can defeat me?' Despite the ferocity of her threats, they seemed a little less threatening due to the villain being pinned down by a rather heavy metal pole, and as Arachne struggled, Ladybug seized her chance to take the spider badge that dangled in the middle of her chest and break it in half. In the back of her mind, however, remained the thought that there was a hostage nearing the edge of the building, pushed back slowly by a rather large group of rather large spiders.

'You've been caught up in a web of lies, Arachne,' Ladybug sassed as she stomped on the badge and proceeded to capture the akuma that had lay within. 'Bye bye, little butterfly.'

The instant the akuma was captured was the instant that Arachne had changed back into her usual self - a brown eyed, black haired civilian named Aceline Martin.

'Excuse me, Miss, I will be right back,' Ladybug promised as she quickly helped Aceline from under the pole, her sole focus on the lady who had been near the edge of the roof; a blood-curdling scream erupted from behind her and as Ladybug turned around, she saw the hostage, now free from the silken weaves, falling backward off the rooftop, pure terror throughout her face.

Ladybug immediately jumped into action, diving after the lady, who was seemingly unconscious from the fall, and found herself in a terrible situation - as they both plummeted down, Ladybug could hear her Miraculous beeping, indicating that she would shortly turn back. Closer and closer to the ground they fell, before Ladybug used her yo-yo to slow their speed, but by the time they were about ten feet from the ground, Ladybug could feel herself about to detransform and found herself holding the hostage no longer as Ladybug, but as Marinette.

Quickly, she surveyed the area - not a soul to be found - and propped the hostage against the side of the building, calling for the ambulance and sitting with the unconscious lady until she was safe and sound before leaving to continue with her design venture. She was sure, after that, that she had a few new ideas up her sleeve.


	3. Three

'Girl, you should have seen it! Ladybug was amazing! And so was Chat Noir! I was so sure, though, that that lady actually was going to fall off the building!' Alya rambled as they strolled to the park, Marinette listening to her best friend as she looked to her surroundings for inspiration for her latest design. 'But as always, Ladybug was there to save her!'

Marinette paused as she stumbled across a child holding a plush Chat Noir and Ladybug doll, and almost immediately, an idea struck her. 'As always.' Her pencil pressed against her sketchpad with such intensity that she almost blunted it straight away; Alya stood in awe of the enthusiasm her best friend had toward designing - after all, she had designed her own design and created her own set of books, bags and similar other things.

'I do wonder, though,' Alya mused aloud, 'what would happen if one day Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't save the day? What would happened if something really bad did happen?'

'Don't be silly! It's Ladybug and Chat Noir! Nothing can go wrong with them around!' Marinette retorted playfully, feeling confident in herself as she watched Alya press a finger and thumb to her face in thought.

With a nod, Alya agreed. 'Yeah, I guess you're right! After all, we need someone to have faith in, don't we? With all these villains coming out of the woodwork.'

As the pair strolled around, Marinette had found herself so engrossed in her sketching that she didn't hear Alya call out to her and definitely didn't see Adrien and Nino standing in front of her - it wasn't until she had accidentally run into the guy she had a crush on that she realised there was a world outside of her sketchbook. The book fell out of her hand and as she bent down to pick it up, she noticed that she wasn't the only one to do so and began blushing immensely as they both kneeled before each other, looking nervous.

Adrien grabbed the book, rubbing his neck yet again, and smiled awkwardly. 'Are you getting deja vu, as well?' He looked down for a moment at the open page and noted two designs on the page - one was a red ball gown with black hemming and black rhinestones bedazzling the chest. The second was a more casual outfit; a black jacket with a green cat grazing across the back, complemented by black gloves with green fingers. 'Did you design these today?'

'Actually,' Alya piped up, looking confident, 'she designed them just now. Pretty neat, huh?'

Marinette reached forward shyly to discourage her friend, but Alya was too busy talking about how cool she thought it was that Marinette could find inspiration in just about anything. 'Actually, it's only really certain things,' Marinette responded quietly.

Adrien looked over both designs for a little longer before handing the design book back. 'So, you like Ladybug and Chat Noir?'

With an enthusiastic nod, Marinette began to blush but let her excitement overtake her for a brief moment. 'Yes, they're amazing! Especially Chat Noir! He's so cool and Ladybug would be nothing without him.'

In that moment, Marinette could have sworn she saw Adrien's ears go red but thought it must have been a trick of the light - no way would someone like Adrien be flustered, about anything. But if he was blushing, then, Marinette thought to herself, that's extremely cute.

'That's true, but what about Ladybug? She's so brave and strong - Chat Noir can only help catch the akumas. He can't purify them or anything. Honestly, she's pretty cool.' He looked down at the book Marinette held in her hands and back up into her eyes. 'I think she would be pretty impressed with your design. I know I am.'

With eyes focused purely on the blond in front of her, Marinette didn't notice as Adrien was being tugged away by Nino, who was complaining that they were going to be late for something. Instead, as Adrien began drifting from view, her eyes simply followed him for a few moments before she turned back to Alya.

'What is that face, Marinette?' Alya chuckled, squeezing her friend's cheek. 'You look like a love-sick puppy. Oh, I forgot. You are.'

Marinette ignored what Alya had said and continued to space out, thinking intently to herself. 'Ah, Adrien. He's so cool. And stylish. And he always smells really nice.' She paused for a moment and looked at Alya with an intensity she only had when it came to the boy. 'I want to marry him.'

Little did Marinette realise that Alya was not looking at her whilst she was speaking, but past her, attempting to gain her attention - and failing. No matter what Alya tried to say, Marinette was too caught up in her lovey-dovey dream to realise anything aside from what was happening inside of her head. 'Marinette!' Alya whispered quickly, spinning Marinette around so they were both facing the same way, and in front of them stood Nino and Adrien, both looking a little embarrassed, one more so than the other. 'Good luck,' Alya added with a nudge as Nino explained he'd returned because he forgot to get a USB from Alya.

'Uh, hi again.' Adrien smiled nervously as Marinette stammered, feeling quite the same. 'Maybe I misheard...'

'N-no, that's not it! I, uh, I meant to marry your design with my, uh, designs! You know, put them together? Because your father has such an amazing eye for clothing - not that I could ever consider to reach his level. I mean, you always look so good - I mean, the clothes! Your clothes! The clothes your father designed! Not to say I wouldn't love to see you in my clothes - I mean, the clothes I design - I mean-'

Adrien chuckled and placed a tender hand against Marinette's arm, smiling at her. 'Don't worry. I think I understand what you mean. After you designed that hat, I was looking forward to seeing what else you could come up with.'

'B-but you were allergic to the feather!'

'Don't worry about it. It's not like you could have known what I'm allergic to, right?'

Marinette smiled back, struggling to hold back the red that would soon engulf her cheeks. 'I guess you're right.' Once again, she stared after them as Nino and Adrien walked away, waving back longingly as Adrien waved farewell to her. She continued watching until they were out of earshot and turned around triumphantly, grinning at Alya.

'I will marry him.'


	4. Four

The hospital glistened in the sun, its pure tiles of white reflecting the light and inviting passers-by inside. Usually, Marinette tried to avoid hospitals - being Ladybug, she preferred to live in a world where things would always end well. Thankfully, it was rare for this particular hospital to ever have more than ten people in it (it was a small hospital) and today, there was one patient that Marinette was coming to see - Angeline Pichard - while getting in contact with the ambulance and watching as they sent her straight to the hospital on the day of the incident, another of the ambulance had patched up her ankle, explaining it was only a sprain after Marinette had started having trouble walking on it, and that the lady that she had saved was called Angeline Pichard - Marinette decided to take it upon herself to make sure that the lady was fine after that ordeal.

Upon entering, Marinette noticed that the lobby was almost entirely bare - only the receptionist and one other patient waited there. Marinette made a beeline to the receptionist, not wanting to stay in the lobby any longer than she had to, and greeted the lady, who seemed almost completely consumed in paperwork, with a smile.

'Hi, I'm looking for Angeline Pichard?'

Without even glancing up, the receptionist pointed toward a door down a thin corridor and continuing musing over her paperwork, not paying Marinette any mind. A little taken aback, Marinette slowly walked down the corridor, occasionally looking back at the lady before she finally found a room with the name tag Angeline Pichard.

Her hand trembled slightly as she knocked; there was a three-second pause before a voice invited her inside. To Marinette's surprise, it wasn't the kind of voice she was expecting - Marinette thought it would be more sickly or weak, but it sounded healthy and energetic. She opened the door and was greeted by the sight of the lady she's helped laying in bed, a smile spreading across her face as she took in the sight of Marinette.

'It's you!' she exclaimed enthusiastically, sitting up quickly before lying back down. 'Too fast, sat up too fast.' With a chuckle, she motioned Marinette over.

'How are you feeling?' Marinette asked, sitting in a simple, plastic chair that was facing toward the bed. She leaned in slightly, a smile plastered on her face. It was moments like these that Marinette lived for - seeing people happy and knowing she had helped them, even minutely.

The woman grinned appreciatively. 'Really well, surprisingly. Doctors say I should be right to leave as soon as they've finished running their tests! And it's all thanks to you! You're the only person I've seen today.' Her smile faltered momentarily. 'I have a question. What actually happened? I just remember that spider-lady and being wrapped up in a web.'

'Well, Ladybug saved you. You fell from the roof of the building, but Ladybug caught you as you fell, so you're safe now!'

'Really? But I remember being in the ambulance vehicle and seeing you as I left. What happened to Ladybug?'

Marinette could feel her smile twitch slightly as she stuttered. 'Oh, she had to, uh, leave. She was so busy - once she and Chat Noir defeated Arachne, she had to go and help someone else in Paris! She asked me to make sure you were safe, so I called the ambulance.'

With a nod, Angeline seemed to be hanging onto Marinette's every word, playing it over in her head. She paused for a few seconds, processing it, before looking at Marinette thoughtfully. 'It must be nice.'

'N-nice? What is?'

'Being close to a superhero. Obviously she trusts you if she's leaving me to you to look after.' Angeline twirled a piece of auburn hair around her finger. 'I'm a little jealous.'

Marinette stuttered slightly, trying to think of what to say in the next few seconds without seeming too awkward. 'No, Angeline, you've got it wrong. I was just passing her on the street and she asked me to look after you!'

'Wait, so she asked a random person she saw on the street to make sure that I was fine? Doesn't she worry about the people she helps after she helps them?'

'That's not what I, uh, sure, Ladybug and I are friends, which is why she trusted you to me. She wanted to make sure it was someone she could count on, but she really did just pass me. She had just already known me and thought that I would be okay to look after you and get you the help you needed.'

Angeline sat in silence for a bit - she nodded contentedly, stroking her chin. Neither of them said anything for a little while, instead Angeline began staring out her hospital window and Marinette sat still, her face flushed from the intensity of trying to talk her way out of a situation. After a few seconds, Marinette stood up.

'Well,' she said, heading toward the door and opening it partway, 'I'm going to head off now.'

'Okay, take care,' Angeline replied, not really looking at Marinette. 'Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I forgot.'

'Forgot?'

'Yeah, I forgot. Someone did visit me before.'

Marinette turned back slightly, looking toward Angeline with half of her body out the door. Angeline's eyes were locked on Marinette's as she thought back to the moment. 'Yeah, blond. Tall. Extremely handsome. I think he was a model or something. I felt so lucky to have someone like that visiting me! I don't know how I possibly forgot. I thought maybe you'd be friends with him?'

The mere description of the guy forced Marinette's eyes out into the lobby, where she saw part of the receptionist, still busy with her paperwork, and the other patient that she hadn't taken any notice of when she first entered the building. From where she stood, Marinette could tell he was blond, fair and looked a lot like a certain someone that she knew, the thought of which sent her heart racing.

'Well, I'm glad that you're safe and sound! I have to go, bye!' Marinette called as she rushed out of the room, but upon arriving back in the lobby, she realised that her Adrien-like figure was no longer where he had been sitting and she felt her heart sink a little. 'Guess I must have been imagining things.'

A sudden hand on her shoulder jolted Marinette out of her disappointed state and sent her heart into hyper-drive as she turned around to see Adrien standing next to her, a smile on his face. 'Hey Marinette! What brings you here?'

'I, uh, hi! I'm here for the patent - I mean patient! Angeline? She was attacked by Spiderman, I mean Arachne yesterday. Wanted to make sure she was fine. And you?'

'Same reason. I saw her on the news and wanted to make sure that she was okay. She seems to be in good spirits, considering what happened. It's a good thing Ladybug was there, wasn't it?'

Marinette giggled, trying to hide the nervousness that was showing in her face. 'Yeah, I guess. She's pretty cool.' Her hands fidgeted in front of her as she spoke and whenever her and Adrien's eyes met, she found herself looking away, despite how much she didn't want to.

'Well, shall we leave?' Adrien asked, removing his hand from Marinette's shoulder and moving toward the door to hold it open for her. 'I don't know about you but,' he waited until Marinette had come close enough for him to whisper, 'the receptionist kind of scares me.'

With a chuckle, Marinette left first, followed closely behind by Adrien, who closed the door gently behind the both of them. They walked in silence for a few moments, Marinette accepting the fact that he was actually walking with her, the pair of them alone.

Adrien was the first to speak, startling Marinette out of her daydream. 'So, I'd been meaning to ask you - how do you get inspiration for your designs? Every time I see them, they're always amazing. And the Ladybug and Chat Noir designs - I would wear the Chat Noir design every day if I could. The Ladybug one too, but I don't think I could pull it off so well.'

'Really? I feel like you'd pull anything off and I'd pay to see you in a ballgown.' Marinette laughed into her hand and felt herself relax a little. There was something different in this moment - she felt nervous, but she also felt calmer than usual, that she could hold a conversation.

Adrien grinned. 'You never know. You might have to cough it up one of these days.' He sighed. 'But seriously, how do you do it?'

'It just kind of comes naturally, I guess. I get inspiration from the things I love.'

'Does that mean you love Chat Noir?' Adrien said with a wink, nudging Marinette slightly. 'I mean, I wouldn't blame you. The guy's a stud.'

'I guess, in a way.' In that second, Marinette could have sworn Adrien's eyes opened wider, but she wasn't sure because he'd averted his face before she could see properly. 'But it's the same with Ladybug. The pair inspire me.'

They continued onward, Marinette too busy thinking about the situation she was in currently to pay attention to anything else - not the trees they were passing, or Alya and Nino walking together and Nino calling to Adrien before Alya shuffled him onward, seemingly explaining something to him with a tone of shock in her face.

'So,' Adrien continued, 'do you have any examples of things that you love?'

Marinette was so caught up in her fantasy world that the only word that came into mind was 'you.'

And little did she know that that was the word that came out of her mouth as well, as Adrien looked at her, stunned, his mouth open slightly.

'I-I mean your father's designs! They're amazing! I have all of them at home and look at them whenever I'm drawing a blank!'

Adrien's face eased slightly but remained skeptical, tying a knot in the pit of Marinette's stomach. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, but didn't want to tell him - in the end, she just stared at the ground as she explained she had to leave, her heart aching a little as she sped up.

'I'm surprised, Marinette! Why did you leave?' a small voice piped up from Marinette's hip. 'It was just you and Adrien!'

'Tikki, I couldn't deal with the look he was giving me. It was like I said something terrible...' She stopped for a moment. 'Oh, my gosh, I did say something terrible! I told him I loved him! Tikki, what am I going to do? He's going to hate me! He's never going to talk to me again and I'm going to end up alone!'

'Marinette, calm down. It's not that bad.'

'But Tikki, he's just going to think I'm more of a klutz than he already did!' A small laugh emerged from Marinette's purse as she continued walking, trying to hide that she was speaking to her coin purse. 'Tikki, what's wrong? What are you laughing about?'

'You, Marinette! Trust me, it's not as bad as you think it is. You never know, you may have made things even closer between you.'


	5. Five

With a groan, Marinette plunged into her bed, smothering her face into her pillow as her best friend watched through the phone. 'I'm an idiot. Now he's going to hate me.'

Alya chuckled through the screen. 'Girl, he isn't going to hate you. Sure, he might think you're a little weird but that doesn't change anything.'

'He thinks I'm weird? That's it. My life is over. Stop the Earth, I'd like to get off, please.'

'Marinette, honestly. It's not even that big of a deal. You've done stranger things before. And said stranger things.'

Marinette sat up and looked straight at Alya. 'Never have I told him I loved him. Until today.'

'You're right, I guess, but you did also try and fix it. I'm sure you're just agonising over it for no reason. Adrien probably doesn't even care. And I bet tomorrow, when you go into class, Adrien is just going to see you, smile and wave without any awkwardness. You'll see.'

With a smile, the pair hung up; though Alya was usually right, Marinette couldn't help but think about how stupid she'd been and how embarrassing what she had said to Adrien had been. Would he even be thinking about it the next day?

Tikki suddenly popped up in front of Marinette, looking unimpressed, with tiny hands on her tiny hips. 'Marinette, calm down. Alya is right - Adrien won't even care. Stop thinking so much into it. You're friends and he'll be used to your antics by now.'

Marinette sat up and chuckled to herself. 'I guess you're right, Tikki. We are friends. I mean, I'm just a good friend after all.'

With a glare, Tikki demanded Marinette sleep and proceeded to sit next to her, sleeping by her side. Though by now, Marinette was convinced it wasn't any less unusual than the usual things she did, she could feel random bouts of embarrassment run through her body as she drifted off to sleep.


	6. Six

'Marinette, are you up? You need to leave shortly!' Sabine shouted from below the hutch to Marinette's room, rapping on her door. Marinette, still extremely sleepy, pulled the pink duvet further over her head and shoved her phone, which was loudly playing the newest Jagged Stone release as her alarm, under her pillow to muffle it.

She forced a cough and pulled back the cover for a moment, to respond to her mother, 'Mum, I'm sick! I'm not going!'

There was a few moments of silence before Marinette could hear footsteps heading up toward her room and immediately regretted saying anything. She listened to her mother open the hatch and begin walking toward her bed.

'Marinette, are you really sick?' Sabine asked gently from underneath Marinette's bed-loft. 'Or did something happen?' She looked around Marinette's computer area and tsked. 'Was it something about Adrien?'

At the sound of his name, Marinette jolted out of bed, too embarrassed to explain what had happened yesterday. 'Yes, fine, Mum, I'll go to school. I love you,' she muttered, throwing on her bag and kissing Sabine on the cheek, who quickly grabbed her shoulder before she could leave the room and motioned to her body - Marinette was still wearing her pajamas.

##

'Marinette, like I told you yesterday, everything is going to be fine, don't worry. He won't even care.'

Alya pulled out her phone and began flicking through her Ladyblog, searching for something in particular - when she found it, she had shoved the phone in front of Marinette's face.

'What?' Marinette replied unenthusiastically, her face mostly hidden in her arms.

Alya gasped. 'What? That's your response? Didn't you see Ladybug and Chat Noir verse Arachne? It was amazing! And Ladybug saved that lady when she fell from the roof! I swear, you never see any of these things! Those two are amazing!' She turned back to the front of the class, unimpressed and Marinette felt a sharp pang in her side. 'Girl, get up. Adrien's here. Get up, he's waving.'

Marinette sat immediately upright, her face a mixture of excitement and worry as Adrien and Nino took their places at the front desk, Adrien waving to Marinette as though nothing had happened. She could feel yet another sharp pang and looked over to see Alya raising an eyebrow at her. Blood rushed to her face as she lowered her head into her arms again, looking up occasionally at the boy who sat in front of her and before she knew it, lunch had finally arrived.

Marinette refused to look up, knowing that if she did, everyone would see how flushed her face was, but when Alya had quietly explained to her that Adrien seemed to think Marinette was angry, well, that gave her other plans. 'I'm sorry!' she accidentally exclaimed as she jerked upward, noticing Adrien's very surprised and confused expression. Immediately, she regretted everything.

'Don't sweat it, dude, Alya explained everything,' Nino piped up, nodding reassuringly at the blue-haired girl sitting diagonally from him. 'She said you're feeling a little sick and needed time alone. Why don't you go to the nurse?'

Shaking her head, Marinette smiled reluctantly. 'It's not that bad. I'm fine being here.' She looked at Adrien, who had furrowed his eyebrows slightly in apparently worry. 'Don't worry.'

At those words, Adrien beamed at her, not only causing her to beam back but also temporarily stopping her heart as she continued to look at him, unaware she was doing so until Alya put her arm around her and turned her head. 'Earth to Marinette,' she whispered, 'you want to make it anymore obvious?'

Marinette shook out of her daze, confused. 'Obvious?'

Alya turned her head to the back of the classroom and placed her lips near her best friend's ear. 'That you were staring at Adrien?' She turned around to look at him momentarily before turning back. 'It's not all bad though - he was staring at you, too.'

Infused with nerves and excitement, Marinette excused herself from the group under the premise of going to the bathroom and immediately found herself face first on the classroom floor. I've already embarrassed herself enough around Adrien, she thought to herself, why not do it some more?

'Chloe, that's not very nice!' Adrien piped up, slight aggression in his tone. 'Marinette, are you okay?'

Marinette saw to her left the Adrien had leaned down next to her and offered her a hand to stand up, which she took almost immediately. 'Yeah, I'm fine,' she responded, realising that, like she had been, it seemed as though Adrien was staring back into her eyes. She pulled away, nervous that it would seem uncomfortable for him (though she could have sworn she heard what sounded like muffled cheering from the back row), and looked at Chloe, who wore a proud smirk.

'You know what, I think your outfit looks better now! But honestly, if you're expecting to enter Gabriel Agreste's competition with anything like what you're wearing now, good luck. He's a real fashion designer and will only accept the best.'

'Which is why I won last time?'

Chloe stammered, searching for some smart remark but came up short and instead, stormed out of the classroom, calling Sabrina to heel. Suddenly, Marinette began feeling a whole lot lighter.

'Marinette? Could you come here a moment?' Ms Bustier called from the front of the class. Marinette, unsure, did as she was requested and immediately felt that lightness that she'd been feeling dissipate.


	7. Seven

'Is she alright?' Marinette asked concernedly as she entered Angeline Pichard's hospital room, spotting a doctor jotting down something in on a notepad. The doctor turned around, his eyes wide with surprise. 'I came as fast as I could.'

'Marinette?' a weak voice called from beyond the doctor - Angeline leaned forward slightly, her face a deathly pallor, before the doctor eased her back to her original position before turning to Marinette completely.

He sighed quietly and his eyes dropped to his clipboard before he looked back at Marinette. 'She's not in a good state at all. We're running all the tests we can, but she just started showing symptoms overnight. We're doing all we can but,' he took a few steps forward, closer to Marinette, and whispered into her ear, 'she doesn't have much longer.' His body still facing Marinette, the doctor turned to look at his patient before walking past Marinette, telling her, 'I'll give you time alone.'

With a heavy heart, Marinette pulled up a chair again - the same chair in the same position as last time - and sat next to the dying lady. She took Angeline's hand in her own, struggling to hold back tears as she watched her newly found friend looking incredibly ill. 'Angeline?'

There was a momentary silence as Angeline slowly turned her head toward her visitor, her strength mustering a very frail smile. 'Marinette,' she managed, 'you're here. I didn't think you would come.' Her smile faltered. 'No Ladybug.' Before Marinette could say anything, Angeline stroked Marinette's hand with her enclosed hand. 'I understand, she's busy.'

Marinette could feel sadness welling up within her as she watched Angeline speak - a woman barely an adult looked as though she had aged thirty years in only a day. She struggled to hold back the tears as Angeline gazed through the hospital window, her face seemingly transparent.

'Please,' Angeline begged, turning her eyes toward Marinette, who had a single tear streaking her reddened cheeks, 'thank her for me.'

Marinette, with great difficulty, mustered up a smile and wiped away her tears. 'Why don't you tell her yourself?' she asked, her voice choking on sadness. 'I'll get her for you, okay?'

She watched as Angeline smiled as excitedly as she could in such a state before her hand fell limp and her eyes glazed over. A sudden heaviness pressed down on her chest as she let the tears fall, washing over her hands that were still clutching Angeline's. 'I'm so sorry.'

Her head was dropped in shame and sorrow before something grazed her shoulder, soon resting on it. For a moment, she refused to look up, not wanting anyone to see her in such a state, but curiosity got the better of Marinette as she raised her head to better see the person before her and her heart stopped.

'M-Mister Agreste?'

Next to Marinette, his hand resting gently on her shoulder, stood none other than Gabriel Agreste, his stern expression unchanging, even in such an emotional situation. 'I felt it necessary to offer my condolences after hearing what had happened, but I hadn't expected it to escalate so quickly. No one who has been akumatised has ever killed before.' He looked from the corpse to Marinette, her eyes brimming with tears. 'I'm sorry.'

Marinette could do nothing but nod as the tears continued to fall - it took her a few seconds before she gathered the courage to stand and leave the hospital room, her breathing short and rapid. Her hands raced to her face, wiping away the tears that continued to escape, no matter how hard she willed them to remain hidden but no amount of cleansing her face of tears could keep them gone.

'Marinette?'

Without thinking, Marinette looked up and her eyes, again filled with tears, widened. 'A-Adrien?'

He smiled nervously, rubbing his neck. 'Yeah, I, uh, I wanted to see how Angeline was going... I heard it wasn't...' He immediately stopped as he saw Marinette's lip quiver and her eyes well up again. 'Oh...'

Words wouldn't form in her mouth - only rasping gasps - as she tried saying two little words, two little words that crushed her heart where she stood, but it seemed that Adrien understood; his eyebrows lowered slightly, the corners of his mouth slightly down-turned. Without a word, he opened the hospital door and gently coaxed Marinette through it. 'I was surprised to see my father there. I was beginning to think he didn't care about anything other than his work.'

They walked side-by-side, Marinette in silence as tears continued to roll down her cheeks and onto her shoes. She hadn't noticed that it was already starting to become dark and certainly hadn't heard a single word he had said and for once, she found herself unable to be ecstatic that the guy she loved was walking next to her. Instead, everything was just feeling dull. But suddenly, she felt him grip her hand and lead her to a nearby park. Not the park that she frequented quite often, but a smaller one, one that was rather secluded - they were the only people to be seen.

He continued to hold her hand as he led her toward a park bench, hidden away in the corner of the park. Now that Marinette was looking at it from a different angle, she could see that the entire park almost seemed hidden away itself; it was surrounded by thick trees with thick foliage and was almost impossible to see out of. 'I found this one day when I was hiding from, uh, just one day. What do you think?'

'It's beautiful,' was all Marinette could respond with. She hated the feeling that she had, the heaviness that pressed down on her, especially while she was with Adrien, who knew her as the energetic, fun-loving girl she usually was. 'Why did you bring me here?'

Adrien smiled gently at her, still holding her hand. 'I thought you might like somewhere to be able to hide. After...' he began to trail off before taking a breath and continuing. 'I can leave if you want to be alone. I would completely under-'

'No.' Marinette's eyes were aimed downward as she spoke, but her other hand reached for Adrien's, enclosing it between both of her own. 'No, it's okay if you stay. I just need a moment.'

The pair sat in silence, Marinette's face burning as the sadness very slowly melted away and the situation sank in. She was holding Adrien's hand between hers as they sat together, alone, in a secluded park. Though there was so many things she wanted to say, she didn't want to ruin the moment and though there was a happiness building up through her, it had to fight against the sadness that filled her in waves.

Marinette stood, releasing Adrien's hand, surprised to find that Adrien hadn't done the same and continued to hold it as he also stood up. In the moment he did let go, Marinette found herself enveloped by his arms, the words, 'I'm sorry' whispered into her ear. She could feel the heat of his cheek pressing against hers, the linger of his touch as they stood there for a few moments before he pulled back, his face bearing a trace of worry.

'So,' he asked as they emerged from the park, 'shall we take you home?'


	8. Eight

'Adrien, what was that?'

'What do you mean?' Adrien had flopped onto his bed, reminiscing about how the night had gone. 'I've never seen her so upset. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her upset. Marinette's always so happy and energetic.' He chuckled to himself. 'And clumsy. She's a good friend.'

Plagg was shoveling pieces of Camembert into his mouth as he spoke, occasionally showering Adrien in it. 'And that's why you brought her to a secluded, romantic park. Because she's a,' he threw the final piece of Camembert into his tiny mouth and air quoted, 'good friend.'

Adrien sat up. 'I don't know what you're thinking is going on,' he retorted, 'but I was just being polite.'

'Romantic little park setup? Check. Holding her hand? Check. Hugging her? Check. Last I checked, that isn't how you treat a,' Plagg air quoted again, 'good friend.'

'Well, it isn't like Marinette has any feelings toward me or anything. Like I said, we're friends. I think I'd be able to tell if Marinette liked me.' As Adrien stood up and walked toward the wide, open window of his room, he heard a thud and turned around to see Plagg floating mid-air, the new wheel of Camembert he had picked up rolling around on the floor.

Plagg paused a moment then flew down to pick up his aromatic cheese, his mouth slightly agape. 'Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me that Marinette doesn't like you?'

'Yeah, well, she hasn't said anything.'

'Well, what if someone came along one day and said,' he threw the new piece of cheese into his mouth and puffed out his chest, speaking with a deeper voice, '"Marinette, you're the woman of my cheese - I mean dreams - and make me so happy. You're amazing and I love you." How would you feel then?'

Adrien thought for a moment. 'I'd be happy Marinette found someone who realised that Marinette is amazing. I wouldn't take that away from her.'

'Realised?'

'Yeah?'

Plagg flew right up to Adrien's face, his own stern and intimidating. 'So you're saying that you think Marinette is amazing.'

'That's not what I said.'

'But you said if they realised Marinette was amazing. Which means that you already think it.'

'Plagg, that's not how-'

Plagg drifted away gracefully, like a swan gliding across a lake, his hand outstretched dramatically as the other rested on his chest. 'If I were to say, it won't be long before you realise how amazing Camembert is, then that shows that I think Camembert is amazing - which it is.' He flew back to Adrien, whose face was becoming increasingly red the more Plagg argued with him. 'So when did you realise it?'

Adrien was speechless as he tried looking for a response and could not find one. When he flopped onto his stomach on his bed, all he could muster was a simple, 'Shut up, Plagg,' as his black Kwami began singing 'Marinette and Adrien sitting in a tree...'

~~.~~

The world, distorted, flashed by as Marinette made her way to her classroom seat, eyes an intense red from the crying she had done the previous night. Her sights were set on the ground as she walked, avoiding everyone's gazes, including Adrien. She felt her heart hurt a little - after all, what had happened the previous night with Adrien had left her lost for words. Despite being her best friend, Marinette couldn't bring herself to tell Alya; her ecstasy was outweighed by the intensity of what she had witnessed at the hospital and somehow, she couldn't help but think that that girl's death had something to do with her. At this point in time, even Marinette's exceptionally happy go lucky attitude couldn't be saved.

Everything continued on like normal - Miss Bustier taught, Nino joked to Adrien, Chloe was unimpressed by something - but Marinette couldn't focus on any of that. Her mind kept flashing back to Angeline back at the hospital. I should have gone back, she thought, as Ladybug. The thought repeated in her mind like a broken record, making her increasingly more depressed as the lesson continued, and taking up so much of her focus that Marinette didn't even hear Miss Bustier until Alya had nudged her in the side.

Without knowing the question, Marinette piped up with, 'Ladybug!', to which the entire class laughed. Miss Bustier simply shook her head.

'Nice guess, Marinette, but the answer was the Louvre.'

Too ashamed to listen anymore, Marinette hid her face in her arms until the final school bell had rung, at which point she absent-mindedly picked up her bag and began to leave for her home. She didn't even hear as Alya, Nino and Adrien all shouted to her to hold on. She didn't see Alya telling the boys to let her speak to Marinette and she definitely didn't see Adrien as she kept walking, a look of what could have almost been mistook for sadness washed over him.

'-ette! Marinette!' Alya called out, grabbing Marinette's shoulder and resting on it for a moment as she gained her breath. 'Marinette, we've been calling out for you!'

'Oh,' Marinette tried to muster a smile, 'sorry.'

'Girl, what's the matter? You seemed so out of it during class today. What happened?'

As Alya spoke, Marinette thought back to the previous night - from the patient to Adrien - and an inexplicable feeling came over her, not at all good. It was like a coating of discomfort as a bombardment of thoughts filled her mind. 'Hey, Alya? I'm just going to head straight home if that's fine. I want to be alone for a little bit.'

Alya was taken aback as Marinette continued to walk alone toward her house. Nino and Adrien had caught up to her, Nino asking if she found out what was going on. 'I don't know. She wasn't like this yesterday. Didn't the Miss Bustier say she had a phone call yesterday?'

Nino and Alya looked at each other, unsure of what had happened, before Nino turned to Adrien, who was standing with them, silently. 'Dude, do you know what happened? You left not much after.'

Adrien, surprised, looked around before rubbing his neck slightly. 'Uh, yeah. Marinette went to the hospital to visit the hostage from the Arachne situation. The lady had fallen off the side of the building when Ladybug swooped in to save her and Marinette looked after her until the ambulance came.'

Alya pondered. 'But I still don't get why Marinette was such a space cadet today. I mean, wouldn't that have made her more Marinette-y than usual?'

Adrien sighed quietly, a sudden heaviness invading his aura. 'Well, after her phone call yesterday, I received a call from Nathalie, telling me to visit the hospital. When I got there, Marinette was leaving. She was really upset - apparently the lady didn't make it. And she had been in there with her.'

Alya and Nino stood still, shocked. 'Why didn't she tell me?' Alya thought aloud, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in worry as she paced.

'Something tells me it's something she wanted to keep to herself,' Nino voiced, patting Alya on the shoulder to calm her down. 'She'll tell us when she's ready.'


	9. Nine

'It isn't your fault, Marinette. You can't blame yourself.'

'But Tikki, Ladybug is supposed to save Paris! How can I save Paris when I can't even save one person?'

The pair argued; Marinette had managed to convince herself that, as Ladybug, it was her job to save everyone. Even though Angeline's situation was sudden and unforeseen, Marinette was convinced that somehow she had failed Paris as Ladybug. She hadn't even visited Angeline as Ladybug, what good of a superhero was she.

Tikki, however, was set on the idea that Marinette had done all that she could and Angeline's death was in no way through fault of her own. For every argument that Marinette put forward, Tikki had an even more sensible rebuttal until Marinette was forced to wallow in silence. Everything Tikki had said had made sense, and Marinette started to feel as though she was necessarily at fault, lifting the huge burden off of her shoulders.

~~~.~~~

'Look, girl, you're coming out with us. I'll shout your movie ticket, so don't worry about it.' Alya pulled Marinette in for a tight hug and whispered gently into her ear, 'and Adrien is coming, too.'

Immediately excitement filled her body as she embraced Alya, a smile spreading across her face. The conversation with Tikki had left Marinette feeling better than she had for the past few days. Besides, it wasn't like her to sulk for so long - if she continued to, the others would become more inquisitive about why she felt so strong in regard to someone she didn't know - and she hated the fact that Adrien had already seen her in that state - she needed to make snap back into her normal, clumsy Marinette self.

'Count me in!' Marinette said enthusiastically as she pulled away from Alya. 'So, what kind of movie is it?'

'A superhero movie! But you'll have to watch it to find out what it's about.' She winked and nudged Marinette as they made their way to the classroom, Marinette with a huge grin.

Nino greeted the pair from his seat next to Adrien, who hadn't arrived yet. 'Adrien had trouble convincing his dad to let him go - he spent all morning trying and messaged me only a few minutes ago that he was going to be late since his dad had only just agreed.'

Hearing that Adrien was going to be late sent a chill down Marinette's spine. He's only going to be late, she told herself, it's not like he isn't coming at all. Trying to keep up a brave face, Marinette sat next to Alya and proceeded to ask her about the movie, to which Alya simply laughed. 'I'm not telling you what it's about, Marinette! You'll have to find out!'

Class continued without Adrien, and Marinette found herself worried - it was already halfway through the school day and he still hadn't shown up. 'Nino,' she tapped her friend's shoulder, 'I thought you said he'd be late.'

'He said he would be. He never said how late. Maybe his dad decided to not let him go?'

'But doesn't he usually message you when that happens?'

'That-'

Midway through Nino's sentence, Adrien came bursting through the door, his face red and flustered and holding something in his hand. 'Sorry I'm late, Miss Bustier!' he apologised, moving straight to his seat and exhaling deeply as he sat down. From where she sat, Marinette could see Adrien rubbing the back of his neck and apologising to Nino, though when he leaned in closer to whisper something in Nino's ear, she couldn't tell what he had said - she could only see Nino's surprised expression.

'Hey, Marinette,' Adrien piped up, turning around to Marinette, 'you are coming with us to the movie, right?'

Marinette blushed. 'Y-yeah, definitely! I'm so excited!'

As Adrien smiled, Marinette's grin dimmed and her blushing intensified - her eyes were drawn to his face, noting an expression that she only saw sometimes. It was the face he made when he was truly happy.

Like that day in the rain.

Thinking back to it, Marinette blushed even more furiously and hid her cheek in her hands, just hearing Adrien say, 'I'm glad you're coming, Marinette.'

Right now, nothing seemed to be able to ruin the moment - then Chloe appeared.

'So, Marinette, how your design? Have you accepted that it's going to be a flop or are you still hoping that it Mr Agreste might actually like it? Because newsflash - that isn't going to happen. He might have liked your hat, but there's no way that your taste in clothing is going to interest him!'

'Honestly, Chloe, I'm interested to see what you come up with. Or will you need to copy mine again? Because we both remember how well that went last time.'

Chloe huffed. 'Adrien, you know my design will be the best one, right? You agree with me, don't you?'

'Well,' he began, turning to Marinette and then back to Chloe, 'Marinette's designs were actually really good. I'll be interested to see how different yours is, for sure.'

'D-different? You want different?' Chloe's face dropped for a moment before she regained her stubborn pride and puffed out her chest yet again. 'Fine, I'll show you different,' she turned her head toward Marinette, 'and I'll win.' Flicking her hair sassily, Chloe returned to her seat and began tapping away at her phone furiously, yelling at Sabrina about not doing something well enough.

Marinette felt yet another nudge to her side as she looked over to see Alya smirking at her, her eyes darting toward Adrien and then back to her best friend. Just thinking about the face Adrien had made sent Marinette blushing again and before she knew it, she'd let out a groan and hidden her face in her arms, unintentionally directing all the class's attention, including Adrien, to her.


	10. Ten

'It isn't your fault, Marinette. You can't blame yourself.'

'But Tikki, Ladybug is supposed to save Paris! How can I save Paris when I can't even save one person?'

The pair argued; Marinette had managed to convince herself that, as Ladybug, it was her job to save everyone. Even though Angeline's situation was sudden and unforeseen, Marinette was convinced that somehow she had failed Paris as Ladybug. She hadn't even visited Angeline as Ladybug, what good of a superhero was she.

Tikki, however, was set on the idea that Marinette had done all that she could and Angeline's death was in no way through fault of her own. For every argument that Marinette put forward, Tikki had an even more sensible rebuttal until Marinette was forced to wallow in silence. Everything Tikki had said had made sense, and Marinette started to feel as though she was necessarily at fault, lifting the huge burden off of her shoulders.

~~~.~~~

'Look, girl, you're coming out with us. I'll shout your movie ticket, so don't worry about it.' Alya pulled Marinette in for a tight hug and whispered gently into her ear, 'and Adrien is coming, too.'

Immediately excitement filled her body as she embraced Alya, a smile spreading across her face. The conversation with Tikki had left Marinette feeling better than she had for the past few days. Besides, it wasn't like her to sulk for so long - if she continued to, the others would become more inquisitive about why she felt so strong in regard to someone she didn't know - and she hated the fact that Adrien had already seen her in that state - she needed to make snap back into her normal, clumsy Marinette self.

'Count me in!' Marinette said enthusiastically as she pulled away from Alya. 'So, what kind of movie is it?'

'A superhero movie! But you'll have to watch it to find out what it's about.' She winked and nudged Marinette as they made their way to the classroom, Marinette with a huge grin.

Nino greeted the pair from his seat next to Adrien, who hadn't arrived yet. 'Adrien had trouble convincing his dad to let him go - he spent all morning trying and messaged me only a few minutes ago that he was going to be late since his dad had only just agreed.'

Hearing that Adrien was going to be late sent a chill down Marinette's spine. He's only going to be late, she told herself, it's not like he isn't coming at all. Trying to keep up a brave face, Marinette sat next to Alya and proceeded to ask her about the movie, to which Alya simply laughed. 'I'm not telling you what it's about, Marinette! You'll have to find out!'

Class continued without Adrien, and Marinette found herself worried - it was already halfway through the school day and he still hadn't shown up. 'Nino,' she tapped her friend's shoulder, 'I thought you said he'd be late.'

'He said he would be. He never said how late. Maybe his dad decided to not let him go?'

'But doesn't he usually message you when that happens?'

'That-'

Midway through Nino's sentence, Adrien came bursting through the door, his face red and flustered and holding something in his hand. 'Sorry I'm late, Miss Bustier!' he apologised, moving straight to his seat and exhaling deeply as he sat down. From where she sat, Marinette could see Adrien rubbing the back of his neck and apologising to Nino, though when he leaned in closer to whisper something in Nino's ear, she couldn't tell what he had said - she could only see Nino's surprised expression.

'Hey, Marinette,' Adrien piped up, turning around to Marinette, 'you are coming with us to the movie, right?'

Marinette blushed. 'Y-yeah, definitely! I'm so excited!'

As Adrien smiled, Marinette's grin dimmed and her blushing intensified - her eyes were drawn to his face, noting an expression that she only saw sometimes. It was the face he made when he was truly happy.

Like that day in the rain.

Thinking back to it, Marinette blushed even more furiously and hid her cheek in her hands, just hearing Adrien say, 'I'm glad you're coming, Marinette.'

Right now, nothing seemed to be able to ruin the moment - then Chloe appeared.

'So, Marinette, how your design? Have you accepted that it's going to be a flop or are you still hoping that it Mr Agreste might actually like it? Because newsflash - that isn't going to happen. He might have liked your hat, but there's no way that your taste in clothing is going to interest him!'

'Honestly, Chloe, I'm interested to see what you come up with. Or will you need to copy mine again? Because we both remember how well that went last time.'

Chloe huffed. 'Adrien, you know my design will be the best one, right? You agree with me, don't you?'

'Well,' he began, turning to Marinette and then back to Chloe, 'Marinette's designs were actually really good. I'll be interested to see how different yours is, for sure.'

'D-different? You want different?' Chloe's face dropped for a moment before she regained her stubborn pride and puffed out her chest yet again. 'Fine, I'll show you different,' she turned her head toward Marinette, 'and I'll win.' Flicking her hair sassily, Chloe returned to her seat and began tapping away at her phone furiously, yelling at Sabrina about not doing something well enough.

Marinette felt yet another nudge to her side as she looked over to see Alya smirking at her, her eyes darting toward Adrien and then back to her best friend. Just thinking about the face Adrien had made sent Marinette blushing again and before she knew it, she'd let out a groan and hidden her face in her arms, unintentionally directing all the class's attention, including Adrien, to her.

~~.~~

'Do you know what this movie is about?' Marinette asked Adrien quietly as the pair walked behind Alya and Nino, who were buying the tickets. 'Alya only told me it was a superhero movie.'

'Sorry, Nino told me the same thing. But I'm just happy I get to see a movie with my friends.' Adrien's face lit up and Marinette could feel her cheeks burning yet again as she looked at him. 'Oh, by the way,' he pulled out something covered in wrap from his bag and thrust it toward Marinette, 'I know you like Jagged Stone, so I got this for you.'

Marinette's hands shook as she took the present, a knot tying in her throat. 'For m-me?'

With a nod, Adrien placed his hands under Marinette's and smiled. 'Go ahead, open it.'

Her entire body trembled - not only was Adrien touching her hands, but he had just given her a present; the wrapping fell away, revealing a limited edition Jagged Stone album, complete with signature and poster. 'I-I-I,' Marinette stuttered before pushing the present back toward her friend, 'I can't take this. You like Jagged, too, don't you? Why don't you keep it?'

'Marinette, I want you to keep it.' Adrien stepped forward, closer to her and pushed the present closer to her chest. 'Okay?'

As Marinette found herself staring into Adrien's eyes, her heart beating so quickly, she was sure he would hear it, footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a pair of hands on her shoulders and a ticket in her hand. 'Got them!' Alya piped up from behind them. 'Wait, what's that?'

'Oh, uh, just something I found. I thought Marinette might like it, that's all.' Adrien blushed and rubbed his neck, looking off in a completely different direction.

Nino poked his head in, joining in on the action. 'Dude, this is super rare! I mean, this is not something you'd find easily. You must have spent most of the day looking for this.'

Alya whispered into Marinette's ear, 'I think we found out why boy was late.' Marinette started feeling so hot she could have sworn smoke was going to come out of her ears, but despite the embarrassment and the nerves, she couldn't help but pull the album closer to her chest and close her eyes, unaware of the gentle smile on Adrien's face as he looked at her.

~~~.~~~

The four proceeded to their assigned seats, Alya and Marinette on the two outside seats and Nino and Adrien sitting between them, Nino next to Alya and Marinette next to Adrien. Marinette couldn't keep the grin off of her face as Adrien explained that he was excited to finally get to do something fun, which made Marinette realise just how much of an impact his father had on his life - it seemed outside of all his practices and photo shoots, Adrien wasn't left with a lot of time to do what he wanted, and when he was, his father usually wouldn't allow him to go anywhere.

Eventually the lights died down and the chattering hushed as the title appeared: Superb! in intense, bold lettering. Before long, Marinette had found out what kind of movie this was going to be.

A romance.

The plot was a pair of superheroes had just witnessed a death during a fight with a villain, and one of the heroes, madly in love with the other, watches as their partner is convinced that a terrible situation that has occurred is entirely their fault. The hero in love wants to convince the other of their affection and that they aren't to blame for what has happened.

As Marinette watched, she felt an odd chill - did they know what had gone on with her? Did they know she was Ladybug? There was no way... They would have said something... Marinette's heart pounded as she looked over at her friends, all focused on the movie. She couldn't help but linger a little longer on Adrien's face as he started longingly at the film, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, and when she turned back, she saw the two protagonists in a romantic embrace before pressing their lips against each other.

Adrien had leaned over toward Marinette, his breath heavy as he tried to remain quiet. 'Marinette, are you okay?' he whispered into her ear. 'You don't look so good.' Marinette's entire face began to redden; as she turned to respond, Adrien also turned to face her and the pair found themselves mere inches away from each other's faces. At the same time, the pair pulled away, focusing on the movie until the end credits were rolling. They were both as red as each other when they left the cinema, inviting odd looks from both Alya and Nino, but no words regarding it.

'So, what did you think of the movie?' Alya asked aloud energetically. 'Pretty sweet, huh? I remember hearing that it was based on Ladybug and Chat Noir! I would love to see those two kiss again. Properly, though.'

Caught up in her own thoughts, Alya didn't catch Adrien's face as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened, failing to regain his composure. 'Again? What do you mean 'again'? Those two haven't ever kissed.'

'Dude, you really didn't know?' Nino asked, pulling out his phone and pulling up a short clip of Ladybug pulling Chat Noir toward her and kissing him. 'It was when Kim was akumatised into Dark Cupid! It was all over the news.'

Adrien froze, his eyes still wide as he stared at the picture, taking Nino's phone into his hands and staring at it. 'That...'

'Chaton.'

Adrien's head snapped toward Marinette, his eyes wide with confusion and shock. 'What did you say?'

'Chaton. That's what Ladybug calls him, isn't it? I don't think he's seen this, either. Guess you've got some competition.' Marinette giggled and patted Adrien's arm. 'I'm just kidding.'

Adrien smiled from the corner of his mouth as he looked at Marinette. 'You know what, I guess you're right. I do have competition.'

'Wait, dude, you're not jealous of Chat Noir, are you? I mean he and Ladybug are totally a thing!' Nino interjected, taking his phone back from his best friend. 'Does Ladybug even know you exist?'

Marinette took a step between them, trying to make herself known. 'Ladybug has never said anything about her and Chat Noir being an item, you know, and I'm sure she knows Adrien. I mean, she knows so many people in Paris! How would she not know the son of Gabriel Agreste?' Though she was trying to argue for Adrien, she couldn't help but feel a familiar pang in her chest. Was it jealousy? It couldn't be - she was Ladybug!

'You know what, Nino? I'll just make her notice me. Then she's got no reason.' He paused. 'But maybe she does prefer Chat Noir...'

'No way, Jose! I-I mean Adrien. I know Ladybug and she only kissed him to save him from Dark Cupid. It's not like it means anything else.'

For a moment, Marinette could have sworn she saw Adrien's expression drop as she spoke, but decided it could have been a trick of the light. The next thing she knew, Adrien was gripping her arms, holding her in front of his face. 'You said you know Ladybug. Could you help me with her?'

'I, uh, I-'

'Please, Marinette!'

Marinette looked at Alya, who seemed just as confused and surprised as she did, and then paused a moment before agreeing. 'Okay, I'll help -'

She couldn't even finish the sentence before Adrien pulled her in for a hug, thanking her repeatedly and then kissing her cheek. The shock took a few moments to set in after Nino and Adrien had walked off, waving goodbye to Alya and Marinette and discussing Adrien's situation.

'Girl, what just happened?'

Marinette watched as Adrien left, excitedly speaking to Nino. 'I'm helping him with Ladybug.'


	11. Eleven

'You told him what?' Alya exclaimed, standing up in her seat and staring at her best friend, who was as red as the Nathaniel's hair, ushering Alya to sit back down and hush.

'He kind of just found out,' Marinette whispered in reply, embarrassed as she saw Adrien and Nino looking at the pair of them, confused. 'He was having lady issues and wanted my help.'

Alya grabbed Marinette's shoulders and pulled her closer. 'So, what you're telling me is that Chat Noir came to you to help him with his love life?' She held her breath for a moment before breaking into laughter. 'Oh, girl, that is funny.'

'It's not!' Marinette denied, still trying to convince Alya to keep her voice down.

'What's not funny?'

Marinette and Alya looked toward the front of the class and saw the boys in front of them turned around and looking at them intently. 'What's not funny?' Nino repeated. 'And whose love life?'

Trying to catch her breath, Alya opened her mouth before Marinette looked at her, pleadingly, and she closed it once again. 'Sorry boys, my mouth is shut.' Though she refused to say anything further to the two sitting in front of her, Alya's eyes locked onto Marinette with a smile, to which Marinette immediately knew she would be giving her more details when there weren't prying eyes around.

~~~.~~~

Before long, the bell for the lunch break had rung and Alya scooted closer to Marinette, looking around for a few moments before dedicating her attention to her best friend. With chin in her hands, she said, 'Okay, shoot.'

Marinette went into detail about the night, and in a moment, she hadn't realised her voice wasn't as quiet as she'd planned as she discussed how she trusted Chat Noir and felt like she could tell him anything, though she couldn't help but feel as though he reminded her of someone. The only thing to snap her back to reality was hearing Nino say to Adrien, 'Dude, you feeling alright? Your face is really red.'

With a bit of a stammer, Adrien responded that he was fine, proceeding to hide his face in his hands and claiming he was having a bit of a time out for himself.

'I wonder who he is,' Alya mused, showing her phone to Marinette and pulling up a picture of Chat Noir. 'Can you think of anyone straight away?'

'Straight away?' Marinette looked closer at the picture, especially at the eyes, and immediately pulled away, thinking back to how embarrassed she'd felt having him find out who she was in love with. 'N-no, can't think of anyone.' For a moment, she could have sworn she heard Adrien exhale in front of her.

After a few minutes of discussion, the bell rang again and the class began to disperse, everyone leaving alone or with a friend to return home, Alya continuing to talk to Marinette about what had happened. 'You know, you're so lucky. Chat Noir wanting you to help him with Ladybug and everything. I wish I knew Ladybug. She told me she'd read my Ladyblog but I mean I want to know her more than just that. I wish she'd let me talk to her properly one day.'

'Knowing you, Alya, you'd get her to spill all her secrets. She's a superhero - she doesn't have time to hang around with school students like us. She's out saving Paris.'

'But she looks so young. I mean, she probably goes to school when she's not being Ladybug, right? She could even go to a school near us, or, even our school! To think, we could be attending the same school as Ladybug and not even know it!'

Marinette looked at Alya with a grin. 'That's just a pipe dream. There's no way someone like Ladybug would attend our school.'

Alya nodded. 'Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, if Ladybug attended our school, I'd recognise her in an instant with my Lady-sense! But what about Chat Noir? He's probably the same age as Ladybug, right? If they're school students, there's a chance one of them comes to school with us!'

'You think Chat Noir attends Françoise Dupont High School with us? No way. Chat Noir wouldn't be able to go all this time without getting attention.'

'Maybe he tries not to get noticed when he's not Chat Noir? I mean, I'm sure Ladybug wouldn't want to draw attention to herself either. And considering that school textbook I found her carrying a while ago, it wouldn't surprise me.'

Amidst the heat of their debate, Marinette didn't hear her name being called until Alya's eyes darted off to her right and she waved to Marinette, saying she'd see her later and heading off to talk to Rose and Juleka.

'Hey, Marinette,' a voice greeted from the direction Alya had been looking; it was Adrien, rubbing his neck nervously as he'd been doing more so recently. Marinette was so shocked that for a moment she forgot she was staring at him until Rose, Juleka and Alya walked past and Marinette felt a sharp kick to her shin.

'Oh, hey, Adrien! Uh, what's down? I mean where's up? I mean, uh, hi...'

Adrien smiled nervously, his eyes cast downward as he continued to rub his neck. 'I, uh, was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go on a -'

Marinette's eyes were solely focused on the guy in front of her, her heart raising as she listened to his voice, until it was cut off by another. 'Yo, Adrien, you coming?' Nino called from the front gate.

'Yeah, be there in a minute!' Adrien responded before looking back at Marinette, his cheeks flushed a pink Marinette rarely saw. 'Would you like to go on a date with me?' His words were sped up in embarrassment, but Marinette was hanging onto every word and heard it as though he'd said it at a normal speed, and before she could think, her mouth was moving and has stirred up, extremely excitably, the word 'Yes.'

Brighter than before, Adrien chuckled and touched Marinette's shoulder, causing Marinette to realise her response and become equally as embarrassed. 'Alright, cool. Well, uh, I will see you tomorrow, then.' With a wave, Adrien and Nino walked out of the school and Marinette found herself watching them, her heart so excited it seemed ready to jump out of her chest at any moment. But, if she'd seen Adrien's face as he turned back to look at her, her heart would have stopped completely.


	12. Twelve

'Hey, Marinette,' Adrien called as Marinette and Alya entered the room, talking excitedly. Try as she might to hide it, Marinette's face betrayed her as she turned a deep red, unable to do anything but wave nervously at her crush.

'Oh, hey, Adrien. What's up?' Her voice was slower than normal as she tried to keep her cool, but she could feel Alya nudge her before heading to her seat. For a moment, her heart stopped as she thought to herself - Adrien was being very cool about this, could he have forgotten?

He walked closer to her, his cheeks pink as he looked at her with a nervous smile. 'I just had to ask, are you free tomorrow by any chance?'

'For you, anytime,' she responded dreamily before catching sight of Alya, who was looking at her somewhat aggressively. 'I, uh, I mean sure. Yeah, I'm free tomorrow. Why?'

'Why?' Adrien looked around and bit his lip slightly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. 'Uh, I just wanted to know if you were free tomorrow for the date. I mean, if you don't want to go -'

'No!' Marinette exclaimed, louder than she'd anticipated. The entire class had turned to look at the pair as Marinette slinked back outside, internally dying from embarrassment. Without thinking, she grabbed Adrien's wrist gently and pulled him with her.

His face looked more worried than he had a few moments earlier. 'No as in you don't want to go -'

'No as in that's not what I...' She looked up at him and felt her heart rate increase as he looked into her eyes, her tongue knotted in her throat. 'I, uh, well, you see, that's...'

'Tell me, what kind of things do you like?'

'Uh, well, that's, um...'

'Move it, loser,' Chloe remarked as she barged past Marinette, her eyes widening as they saw Adrien. 'Adrien, what are you doing out here with,' she cast her eyes, unimpressed, toward Marinette, 'her.'

'I just had to ask her a question.' Adrien chuckled nervously as he looked at Marinette, her face a little disheartened.

Chloe flicked her ponytail. 'Well, now you don't need to because I'm here. Let's go inside, Adrikins.'

Grabbing him by the arm, Chloe led a disapproving Adrien back into the classroom before casting another glance at Marinette and smirking. The nerves she had felt from being alone with Adrien were soon replaced by annoyance and anger.

Marinette returned to her seat, a scowl plastered on her face which she didn't realise until Alya pinched her. 'Earth to Marinette, what happened?'

'She happened is what. I was fine talking to him but she had to come along and ruin everything, didn't she. And right when he thought that I didn't want to go on the date with him.'

Once again, Marinette found herself trying to calm down her best friend as she stood in her seat, jaw dropped and eyes wide open. 'He thought what? Why would he think that?'

Bright red and hiding from the eyes she could feel on her, Marinette tugged Alya's hand for her to sit back down. 'He said that it was fine if I didn't want to go and I said no, but Chloe came along as he thought that I meant that I didn't want to go, not that I did.'

'Well, tell him.'

Marinette looked at Adrien talking to Chloe and sunk into her chair, her face in her arms on the desk once again. 'I can't,' she said, muffled. 'He's with her.'

'Well, tell him when he comes back to his seat.'

'Tell him what? It's going to sound so strange if I randomly say, "Hi Adrien, you know what, I would absolutely love to go on a date with you. The things I like, you asked? Well, whatever you choose, hot stuff. As long as it's with you, I'm happy",' Marinette began to explained, putting on a slightly silly voice, before someone interrupted her.

'Great, I'll see you after school at the park.'

Marinette froze. Alya was looking diagonally next to her, her mouth in a smirk she was clearly trying to hide as Marinette refused to look forward at the owner of the voice, but she could see Nino looking at her with a similar expression to Alya and willed herself to gather up the courage and face the embarrassment. As she turned her face, she saw Adrien smiling at her before sitting down, a knowing smile on his face before he turned away.

Leaning in closer to Alya, Marinette felt her heart stop completely. 'H-he didn't hear what I said, did he?'

Alya leaned even closer still, whispering into Marinette's ear. 'I think we both know the answer to that.'

A titter from the back of the classroom let Marinette know that Alya and Adrien weren't the only ones who had heard her, and Marinette sunk further into her chair until she vanished completely from view.


	13. Thirteen

'Good luck,' Alix teased as she walked past Marinette out of the school with Juleka, who added, 'You'll do great,' with her signature mumble.

Marinette grabbed Alya's hand and pulled her closer, looking around anxiously to make sure no one was listening. 'Did everyone hear?'

'Well, it is a small class and when you're all,' Alya shrugged, puffing her chest out to imitate Marinette, '"Why yes, Adrien, I'd love to go on a date with you",' someone is bound to notice. Besides, you called him hot stuff. I'm having déjà vu right now.'

'Please tell me you're kidding. I did not call him hot stuff, right? Last time I did that, you know what happened!'

'This time he actually heard it, though, so you can't delete any messages.'

Marinette dropped to her knees, gripping her hair. 'What do I do? He's going to think I'm such a weirdo!'

'Relax, Marinette,' Alya soothed, 'I'm sure he already thinks that.' A massive frown spread across Marinette's face as her best friend teased her. 'Girl, I'm kidding, don't worry.' She looked away for a moment and then back at Marinette. 'Shouldn't you be getting a move on? Adrien is waiting for you, after all.'

~~~.~~~

Upon arriving at the park, Marinette was immediately met by a semi-frantic Adrien. His hair was slightly messy and his face flushed as though he'd just finished rushing around and in that moment, Marinette couldn't take her eyes off of him. He really reminded her of someone she knew, but she couldn't think of who. The moment he fixed his hair back into place, however, her train of thought was broken and she was left once again feeling nervous in the moment.

'Hey, Marinette,' Adrien greeted her, rubbing his neck yet again. 'You never actually told me what kind of things you like, so I had to guess.' He began to walk toward a nearby rickshaw that seemed conveniently placed. As Marinette was ushered onto it, she saw him bow slightly and could have sworn she heard him call her 'Milady' and paused for a moment before looking at him, confused, though she didn't notice him freeze as she looked at him.

'Sorry, I thought I heard something,' Marinette explained, taking another step before taking a seat on the carriage.

Adrien nervously rubbed his arm as he looked at her, his eyes darting off just about anywhere else. 'Oh, there was a guy saying, "my baby" near me. Maybe that's what you heard.'

Marinette paused in thought for a moment, before agreeing with a 'probably.' After that, the pair could barely gather enough courage to speak to each other, their nerves skyrocketing as they occasionally touched hands when admiring the city and constantly apologising for it.

~~~.~~~

The rest of the date proceeded similarly; despite the romantic situation they were immersed in - such as buying ice cream together from Andre and eating it together by the river - neither of them could gather the courage to speak for very long, though, from the smiles on each of their faces, it was clear to anyone who saw them that neither of them felt the need for words in those moments.

As the sun set, Adrien had taken Marinette's hand and wordlessly led her to the roof of a building; an abundance of pillows and candles spread a romantic aura across the rooftop, momentarily stopping Marinette in her steps. Her breath was taken away and she'd noticed that as they both looked at the scene, Adrien's hand was still in her own.

'Shall we?' he asked, leading her toward the pillows and lying down next to her. 'Paris is so beautiful at night. I thought you might like to look at it.'

'Adrien, can I ask you something?' Her heart caught in her throat as she looked to her right to see him looking directly into her eyes. 'Why me? I mean, this is beautiful but... what about Ladybug?'

Sitting up, Adrien looked at Marinette for a few moments in silence, his eyes locked only on hers, not giving her an answer. Though Marinette knew in her heart that Adrien's love for Ladybug was technically a love for her as well, she could never let him know that she was the superhero and, in turn, considered the two to be completely separate. Her eyes never left him as he leaned forward, closing the space between the pair of them until he was mere inches away from her face with his eyes closed. Marinette followed suit, her brows furrowed in concentration and confusion as she waited to feel something against her skin; though this was absolutely something that set her heart into overdrive, the feeling that something was off constantly tugged at the back of her mind until she realised Adrien had pulled away with a whisper of an apology. Disappointment washed across his face as he sat upright and looked back up to the stars.

'It's getting late, isn't it? I should be getting you back home now. Your parents will be getting worried.'

And with a kiss on her cheek, Adrien proceeded to lead a stunned Marinette back to her house.


	14. Fourteen

Walking together with Alya back to her house, Marinette couldn't help but worry about what had happened the previous night; did she do something bad? Did he regret taking her out for a date? Was it because they were both nervous and didn't speak enough? Did she speak too much?

'He told me he liked Ladybug and then he asked me out,' Marinette thought aloud. 'What am I supposed to think?'

Alya smiled at Marinette. 'Maybe he likes both you and Ladybug.'

'Both of us?'

'Yes, both of you. Maybe he likes Ladybug but he knows it's, well, Ladybug, and that's not really such a great idea to fall for a superhero. And maybe he likes you because it's you. You're funny, sweet, generous, but he feels bad because he'd already asked you to talk to Ladybug for him.'

The pair walked in silence as they neared Marinette's house. Marinette herself was too caught up thinking about what Alya had said to notice there was a pole in front of her and ran into it head first, giving herself a bruised cheek. 'Ow... You know, maybe you're right, Alya.'

'Of course I'm right, Marinette. But no matter the reason, it's not your fault. I'm sure he's just having difficulty with things himself.' As they reached Marinette's door, Alya waved farewell to Marinette and began heading on her way back home. 'I'll call you tonight, okay?'

The two made their way in different directions, worry still clouding Marinette's mind as she made her way upstairs.

~~~.~~~

The park was sparse; a few stragglers made their way slowly across the grass, focused on their conversation more than going anywhere in particular. Alya caught sight of Adrien by the fountain, posing as usual in front of his photographer and looking well and truly pleased after the shoot was finished. To her surprise, he had noticed her and signalled his photographer to stop the photo shoot.

'Hey, Alya,' Adrien greeted her with a wave, his photographer packing up the equipment behind him. 'You're not with Marinette?'

Alya noted a look of slight irritation in the photographer's face as he proceeded to leave the vicinity. 'Someone doesn't look happy. Did I interrupt you?'

'No, we were supposed to be finishing off anyway but he wanted me to keep going.'

'Okay. Well, you just missed Marinette. I just dropped her off at home.' Alya looked away as nonchalantly as she could, trying to keep her cool in case Adrien asked her anything in regards to what Marinette had told her.

Adrien's eyes widened slightly as he looked in the direction of Marinette's house, his cheeks slowly flushing red. 'Y-you mean she's home now? Did she say anything about -'

'About you? About yesterday? No, she didn't say much, except she had fun. Though a little birdy did tell me that they saw you two kiss on the rooftop. How was that?'

Before he could respond, Nathalie called Adrien over to the limo. As Adrien turned around and waved to Alya, he smiled. 'I'm glad that Marinette had fun.'

As Alya watched him walk away, she couldn't help but smile. 'You two are seriously made for each other.'


End file.
